


Beached

by Dreams_Of_Chaos



Category: Homestuck
Genre: F/F, F/M, Gen, Homestuck - Freeform, M/M, Merstuck, mermaid au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:35:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,154
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28291725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dreams_Of_Chaos/pseuds/Dreams_Of_Chaos
Summary: The merfolk have been in hiding for a long time until Karkat Vantas gets caught in a storm. He's saved by Dave and they have to figure out how to get him home before either of them are caught.
Relationships: Calliope/Roxy Lalonde, Dave Strider/Karkat Vantas, John Egbert/Terezi Pyrope, Rose Lalonde/Kanaya Maryam
Kudos: 5





	1. The storm at sea

Karkat Vantas was what you could only describe as a runt in the litter. This had nothing to do with the fact that he was shorter than the average merfolk but more to do with his physical weakness. Some may even suggest he had been cursed with a lack of calcium in his bones. Although, what he lacked for in strength, he certainly made up for in his ever growing temper. It was extremely easy to set this stick of TNT off with a single word.   
However, he was very easy to persuade if you ignored his constant yelling and cursing. That is exactly what Eridan had done. He had persuaded the young merman to go and collect shells and decorations for their future queen’s coronation that would be commencing the next week. Karkat didn’t really care, but only did it because Eridan had promised him a 20% pay increase at the end of the month.   
He grumbled to himself as he scooped shells off of the ocean floor, stuffing them into a small bag as he propelled himself through the cool waters. The sun shone through the surface and gleamed against his red scales. The only sound around was the gentle clicks of crab claws hitting against one another. He decided it was a peaceful day.  
Well, at least, he did then.

Dave sat down at the table, sipping his cup of coffee while scrolling through his phone. He sighed as he checked the weather forecast. ‘Stormy again then,’ He muttered to himself while his older brother strolled into the room, only wearing a bath towel.   
‘Its going to be stormy today then?’ He walked over to the kitchen counter as he scoured through the cupboards looking for something to snack on while his stomach growled at him.  
‘Yeah, that’s what I just said,’ Dave said, not bothering to look up from his phone. His fingers mindlessly scrolled through the pages and pages of tabs he had open until he found the perfect one.  
‘Anyways, I’m going out today, gonna go see Jake and Jade,’ Dirk poured a box of cereal into a bowl, he looked blankly at the flakes as they scattered across the glazed surface. ‘What are your plans then?’  
‘Nothing much, might just watch some movies and go for a walk after the storm. I can usually find some good junk that’s washed up,’ He looked over at his brother through his shades as the brown liquid slipped down his throat.  
‘Oh right, I was wondering if you could go down to Rose’s bookshop today. I asked her to gather some things for me,’   
‘What do you mean “Things”?’ Dave raised a singular eyebrow. ‘What did you ask her to do this time?’ A soft sigh escaped his mouth.  
Dirk slowly smiled as he looked over at Dave. ‘Oh, nothing,’ He chuckled slyly as he scooped cereal into his mouth with a bent spoon.  
‘If this is for another of your schemes,’ Dave swore under his breath. He had always come to describe his brother as eccentric after spending the last 18 years under the same roof. He would often find him building absurd robots with various uses or drawing odd comics with friends and characters in them alike. Dave softly shook his head before directing his attention back to the screen in front of him. He could begin to hear the soft pitter patter of rain against the window as the grey clouds drew nearer and nearer.

Trees began to sway in the violent wind, branches and twigs fell loose and blew away, hitting against any objects in its path. Birds who had been caught in the crossfire fought desperately against the bullets that rained down upon them but to no avail, they were blown away by the wind. Water began to pile up and overflow drains. Water flooded the streets and began to form reservoirs and puddles. Some would describe this as horrible weather, but it was nothing compared to the terrors out at sea.  
The merfolk always went into hiding to avoid the movements of the sea. However, for those not as lucky, they were at the mercy of the ocean. They were nothing but mere puppets as they were tossed around. The currents pulled them away and desperately begged for them to be torn apart. It tossed their stomachs about and would make them feel like vomiting. However, the closer one was to the surface, the worse the effects. What was even more terrifying was the waste the humans had dumped in the ocean beginning to stir.  
Unfortunately for Karkat, a lot of rubbish was heading his way as he struggled against the flow of the sea to return to his home. He desperately twisted and turned trying to find anything to grab onto. He panicked as he bobbed above the water before being dunked back under by a colossal wave. Although the sea was his home, the force was a truly dangerous thing. However, he didn’t notice the large chunk of wood above the wave as it crashed down upon his head. He felt the hit fall against him and before he knew that his eyes closed and he lost consciousness as the storm continued to rage on.  
Hours passed before his unconscious body washed up on the sandy shores of land. He lay there, seemingly lifeless expect for the fact his chest was slowly rising and falling. Blood from where he had been hit slowly dripped down his face and onto the golden grains of sand he laid upon.   
The tide began to slowly pull away as the clouds dispersed and the sun began to beam down on the earth below. The previously soaked beach dried and so did karkat. As the water evaporated away his tail began to transform into two legs.  
It just so happened that someone did see this boy on the beach. Dave was taking a scenic route into town when he came across a small grey boy wearing nothing with blood dripping down his face. Being a reasonable and rational person, he assumed he was a random drunk who was just napping on the beach until he saw a ribbon around the boys wrist. The ribbon meant he was of the sea, a merfolk and Dave knew it right away.  
He panicked and threw off his coat, throwing it over the boy before scooping him up in his arms and carrying him away to his house, trying his best to avoid any detection.   
‘How the hell did a merfolk end up all the way out here?’ he muttered to himself.


	2. The boy from the sea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dave treats Karkat's wounds and teaches him to walk.

Dave carried the merboy back to his home and placed him down on the sofa, trying to figure out what to do. Trying to treat his wound was hard enough without having to figure out what to do about him being from the sea. The wound wasn’t the worst of all injuries but it was a lot of blunt force.   
However, Dave wasn’t a stranger to these injuries, when he was younger he and his siblings always got into all kind troubles resulting in pain. He had learnt to sterilise and treat wounds. He cleaned up the blood and put an ice bag on it, which may not have been the best considering all the boy was wearing was Dave’s coat.   
He sighed as he fell down onto the sofa next to the sleeping boy. He looked down at him and at his peaceful face. Air escaped from his nose and mouth as his eyes twitched.   
‘How did you even end up out here? Thought the merfolk were miles off,’ He stared at the boy’s face. ‘Guess you got caught up in the storm then,’ Dave leant over and grabbed the tv remote before tuning in to the first station he landed on. Great. The kid’s channel. Time to watch some Teletubbies.

An hour or two passed by and Dave had become immersed in Po and Tinky-Winky’s problem with the Tubby Custard machine. He had almost completely forgotten about the merboy lying next to him, until he made a sudden announcement.  
‘WHERE THE FUCK AM I AND WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU WATCHING,’ The boy jolted upright, looking around, his eyes landing on Dave in pure confusion.  
‘I’m watching Teletubbies in my house,’ Dave shrugged as he turned to face the boy who was now trying to eat the ice pack. ‘Yeah, don’t eat that,’  
‘WHY THE FUCK NOT,’ He growled angrily at the boy ‘WHY THE FUCK AM I EVEN HERE IN THE FIRST PLACE?’  
‘I went on a walk and you were on the beach asleep and bleeding,’ Dave picked up his coffee that had been cooling on the side. ‘Saw your ribbon so I took you here,’  
Karkat pondered for a moment, trying to recall the events of the day. ‘SHIT, I GOT CAUGHT UP IN THE STORM,’ He hit his head in annoyance only to yell out in pain again. ‘I TRY TO DO ONE GOOD THING AND THIS IS MY REWARD’  
‘Sounds like a you problem,’ Dave sipped his coffee. ‘Also, you should probably put some clothes on,’   
‘WHY THE FUCK WOULD I NEED CLOTHES, ITS NOT WINTER,’ He exclaimed as he realised a coat was laid over him. He threw it off only to have a face of pure confusion ‘WHAT THE FUCK ARE THOSE?’ He pointed to the legs.   
Dave looked away out of respect for privacy ‘Those are legs, and also why you need to put clothes on. You shouldn’t just have your junk out for the whole world to see,’ He downed the rest of his coffee in an instant.  
‘MY WHAT?’ He tried to move his legs around while struggling, it was a lot different from a tail.  
‘The stuff between your legs, don’t know how it works for you merfolk though,’ He put his hand at the side of his head to block his view.  
‘WHAT THE FUCK EVEN IS THAT? WHY IS THIS EVEN A THING?’ He looked disgusted. ‘GOD YOU HUMANS ARE WEIRD,’  
‘Yeah, yeah, just go into the other room, there are some clothes on the floor, go put them on,’ He pointed towards the door on the opposite side of the room.  
‘UH, HOW DO I EVEN GET THERE?’ He attempted to stand up but failed miserably when he flopped down on the floor, trying to move like he normally did.  
‘throw the coat over you, I’ll carry you then,’ Karkat grabbed onto the hood and threw it over him. Dave turned around and looked down at him. ‘Oh god, you’re hopeless,’ He muttered before scooping him up and carrying him into the other room.  
‘Just put your legs through the holes in these and I’m sure you can figure out the rest for yourself,’ He closed the door to let Karkat get changed by himself. He smiled to himself knowing that he had put a skirt there for him to wear.  
‘WHAT THE FUCK,’ He picked up the boxers and skirt, having never seen them before.   
In the end, he struggled a lot. At one point two legs were in one hole of the boxers. He really had no clue.

Once dressed he wriggled his way over to the door, still unsure of how to work legs. He pushed open the door with struggle before crawling over to Dave. He looked down at him and laughed.  
‘Holy shit dude, you have no idea how to walk do you,’ He crouched down to pick him up and move him over to the sofa while chuckling.  
‘CONSIDERING I’VE NEVER HAD LEGS BEFORE, I THINK I’M DOING A GOOD JOB,’ He said smugly as he folded his arms. ‘STILL, IT AMAZES ME HOW YOU HUMANS CAN WEAR THESE CLOTHES ALL YEAR ROUND,’ He fiddled with the shirt that was obviously too big for him.  
‘For us it’s just normal, I guess. If we were all walking around naked it’d be freezing and shit,’ Dave shrugged as he walked over to the other side of the room where the kitchen was. He began to brew yet another batch of coffee.  
‘WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU MAKING?’ Karkat tried to look over to where Dave was, but to little avail, he was still a bit unsure on how to move himself around.  
‘Coffee, it has caffeine in it, wakes you up,’ He shrugged as he leant against the counter. The light was being reflected in his shades, which bounced back directly into Karkat’s eyes and made him squirm.  
‘WHO THE FUCK EVEN ARE YOU?’ Karkat moved his legs up onto the sofa and crawled over to the other side to get a better look at everything.  
‘Name’s Dave strider, I’m a human,’ He raised his shoulders before lowering them again. The coffee was almost done.  
‘WHAT SORT OF A NAME IS THAT? IT SOUNDS WEIRD,’ Karkat scrunched up his nose as if he were smelling something rotten.  
‘Yeah, yeah, well, what’s yours?’ He got out two cups and poured the hot liquid into them, he watched as the ripples quickly smoothed out as if there were none to even begin with.  
‘KARKAT VANTAS,’ He leant over the side of the sofa to get a better view of Dave.  
‘That’s a pretty unique name, haven’t heard anything like it before really,’ He brought the cups over to the sofa. ‘What the fuck are you doing?’ He chuckled.  
‘LISTEN, MOVING IS HARD, OKAY?’ He sighed as he let Dave move him back upright before taking the cup from him.  
‘Drink it,’ Dave encouraged.  
‘SURE?’ Karkat was a little weary but decided to give it a shot anyway. He almost spat it out when it touched his tongue. ‘WHY IS IT SO HOT?’  
He shrugged ‘That’s just how its always been I guess,’  
Dave sat down on the sofa next to Karkat, sipping his beverage in hand. Karkat copied him in action and began sipping the coffee, trying to ignore the burning sensation on his tongue. Back in the water, they didn’t really need to drink, they didn’t even need to go to the toilet. All water went out through their gills, they didn’t have the proper capabilities to pee. Karkat was astonished by the liquid. He had never tasted or had such a thing. Pure amazement was displayed in his eyes.  
‘Do you like it?’ Dave looked over at the estranged boy, noticing his eyes were wide and full of joy.  
‘ITS AMAZING,’ He was completely awestruck. It was like nothing he had ever had before.  
‘That’s good I suppose, but, how did you end up out here anywhere?’ Dave propped his legs up on the stall.  
‘THE QUEEN DIED A LITTLE WHILE AGO, SO WE WERE GOING TO HAVE ANOTHER AND THAT NEEDS A CORINATION. IT’LL BE NEXT WEEK, WHEN MEENAH IS CROWNED. WE USUALLY DECORATE FOR IT, AND MY STORE WHERE I WORKED HADNT BEEN YET, SO MY CO WORKER TOLD ME TO GO FIND SOME SHELLS. BUT, WE ARENT GREAT AT TELLING THE WEATHER AND I GOT CARRIED AWAY AND I ENDED UP HERE,’ He explained. ‘I GOT REAL FUCKING UNLUCKY,’ He handed the empty cup back to Dave who placed it on the side.  
‘Wow, you really did,’ He sighed. ‘I can get you back to the ocean if you need to go then,’ Dave offered.  
‘I WOULD APPRECIATE IT, BUT I NEED A MAP FIRST, I HAVE NO IDEA WHICH SHORE I’M ON AND WE MER FOLK HAVE DIFFERENT NAMES FOR THEM. BUT, I MEMERISED THE SHAPES,’ Karkat asked ‘IF YOU COULD GET ONE OF THEM? I SHOULD BE ABLE TO GO,’  
‘I don’t have any maps on me by hand, but my sister, rose, she has a bookshop. I’m sure she probably has some maps too, we can head by there if needs be,’ He suggested as he got up to go put the coffee cups by the sink.  
‘IF YOU’RE SURE YOU CAN DO THAT,’ He shrugged in response.  
‘Yeah, for the meantime maybe just stay here and watch the TV or something,’ He came back over to hand the remote to Karkat.  
He shook his head, pushing the remote back towards Dave. ‘NO, THIS IS PROBABLY GOING TO BE MY ONLY TIME HERE ON THE SHORE, I WANT TO SEE SOME MORE BEFORE I GO,’   
‘Dude, you cant even walk, I’m not about to carry you everywhere,’ He rolled his eyes from behind his shades.  
‘THEN TEACH ME,’ Karkat attempted to stand up, succeeding for a short second before falling back down onto the sofa. He looked up at Dave, determination in his eyes.  
‘You wanna learn that badly then?’ He chuckled. ‘Sure, but don’t blame me if you hurt yourself when falling over,’ He held out a hand towards him, beckoning him to take it.

For the next two hours, Dave held up Karkat by holding him under his shoulders while he took gentle steps forward. Karkat’s steps were rough and wobbly but he was progressing. Eventually, he realised he had to put the pressure on his feet. He learnt the basics quickly, but as for putting them into effect, he wasn’t as good at that. His steps were still wobbly and shaky, but he was better than he was before.  
Karkat learnt that being a human was very different from being a merfolk. While in the water, he was able to more freely and at ease, twisting his body and using his fins to move was easy. But, having to turn and step with feet and legs was a lot harder. It felt a lot more constricting.  
Meanwhile Dave was astonished by the boy’s weight. He was already surprised when he had been carrying him earlier, but holding him upright now, he truly took into account how light he was. He had always heard legends that merfolk were a lot lighter as to be able to swim faster. However, he believed it was more because the boy was just extremely small.

After a lot more practicing, Dave finally noticed that the clock had reached 7. ‘Oh man, we’ve been at this for hours, I didn’t even notice the time,’ He sighed. ‘Don’t suppose you want anything to eat?’  
‘SURE, AS LONG AS IT ISNT SOME WEIRD THING,’ Karkat shrugged as Dace released his grip on the boy to let him try stand on his own. He was succeeding, but was still a little shaky.  
‘Yeah, I’ll just heat up some ramen, too late to do any proper cooking,’ He walked over to the kitchen, looking through the draws. ‘Also good job with standing and walking,’ He gave a thumbs up.  
‘THANKS,’ Karkat held his arms up for balance. ‘ALSO WHAT THE FUCK IS RAMEN?’  
‘You’ll see,’ he laughed.

‘You’re going already old chap?’ Jake sighed as Dirk pulled on his coat.  
‘Yeah, I need to get back to Dave, he was gonna get some things for me,’ He sighed as he opened the door.  
‘Alright then, till the next time,’ Dirk walked away as Jake waved at him from the doorframe. The door closed as Dirk went out of view and Jake turned to face Jade.  
‘Did you finish work on your thesis about merfolk?’ Jake walked over to Jade who was surrounded by a mountain of books and paper. She held a pen in hand, the end had been thoroughly chewed from stress and contemplation. A thick stack of paper stood in front of her, the ink ran dry on the last line.  
‘Not quite,’ She sighed, rubbing her forehead as she looked up. Dark shadows laid under her eyes and her smile was weak.  
‘You should rest, you can finish it in the morning,’ He suggested as he began to pick up the books that surrounded her.  
‘Yeah, you’re probably right,’ She sighed as she stretched her arms out above her head. A yawn escaped her mouth. ‘I wonder what being a merfolk would be like,’


	3. Not so hidden

Dave and Karkat sat silently as they ate their ramen. Karkat was absolutely amazed by the flavour and texture, he had never had anything quite like it before. Dave was just amazed by the cluelessness the merboy possessed. It was amusing to him.  
The atmosphere was peaceful until Dave heard the front door click, meaning his brother had returned home. ‘hide,’ Dave mouthed over at Karkat as he desperately began to collect their meals and hiding them. Karkat wobbled over to the sofa, and laid down behind it, unsure of what to do. He was squished against the soft fabric and the cold hard wall. It wasn't very pleasant.  
‘I’m back,’ Dirk walked in the room, before sniffing the air, noticing the smell of food ‘Did you heat up the left over ramen?’  
‘Yeah, I got hungry and didn’t notice the time, too busy watching Teletubbies,’ A bead of sweat ran down Dave’s face as he tried to play it off. Karkat held his breath, trying not to make a peep out of fear. He had no idea how the other human would react to his presence.  
‘Has someone else been here?’ Dirk looked over to the sink to see the pair of cups sitting there. Dave felt his heart drop to his stomach as he tried to invent a lie.  
‘Oh, that, no,’ He gulped ‘I forgot I already had a cup and accidentally got another,’  
‘Alright then, I’m heading to bed early, I had dinner at Jake and Jade’s place,’ He sighed as he headed over to his room, closing the door behind him.

Dave sighed and walked over to the sofa before sticking his head down the side. ‘Be quiet,’ he whispered as he lowered a hand towards the merboy. Karkat grasped on, struggling to get up from the small space he had confined himself too. ‘not many humans have great opinions on merfolk,’ he lead Karkat into his bedroom, locking the door behind him.  
‘I’ll get a futon out, you can get the bed,’ Dave pointed at his bed before walking over to the cupboard.   
‘WHO THE FUCK WAS THAT?’ Karkat tried his best to whisper, but he had a very poor volume control.  
‘Dirk, my brother,’ He pulled out the futon, unrolling it on the floor.  
‘RIGHT, AM I MEANT TO JUST LAY ON THIS THEN?’ He sat down on the bed and shuffled around, trying to get comfortable. ‘HOW ARE YOU EVEN MEANT TO SLEEP WITH LEGS?’  
Dave shrugged in response as he crawled into the futon ‘Dunno, we just do, now go to bed, I’ll wake you up at 5 so we can go before my brother sees us,’ He lifted himself up slightly to reach the light switch.  
Karkat sighed as he rolled over, directing his focus to the window where he looked at the night’s sky. He had always enjoyed coming up to the surface to look at the stars, but he never really stayed that long. He realised that the human world was really quiet beautiful.

Kanaya closed the door behind her, turning the key to lock it as she took her fiancé in hand and they began to walk home. She smiled as she felt her lover’s head fall against her shoulder and the gentle warmth of her body next to hers.  
‘I’m guessing your brother didn’t show up in the end,’ She held Rose’s shoulder as they walked.  
‘No, but he left a message to say he would be coming tomorrow along with a friend,’ Rose smiled as she lifted her gaze up to the stars. ‘It’s a beautiful night,’  
‘Yes, it is,’ Kanaya said ‘There isn’t a cloud in sight, it makes up for the storm,’  
‘I wonder how Roxy is doing,’ Rose’s demeanour shifted into sadness.  
‘I’m sure she’s doing alright, last we spoke to her she said she had found a pod to settle in,’ She tried to reassure rose, she had been constantly worrying for the past month since her sister had vanished due to a curse. Where the curse came from was unknown, but she had become one of the merfolk.  
Roxy Lalonde was a regular human girl until her 19th birthday, upon this day when she decided to take a bath, she discovered something horrifying. She yelled for her sister’s help and Rose came only to see her sister with a fish tail. They began to research on the matter, as they knew how merfolk were hated in the human world. They helped her reach the sea and made a promise to see each other every full moon.   
Roxy set out, swimming through the sea to find a home when she came across a pod of merfolk. That was where she met her friend; Feferi Peixes, the youngest daughter of the current queen. But now Feferi was the second in line to the throne since her mother’s passing. Her older sister Meenah was due to become the queen. Luckily, Feferi was able to offer Roxy a job, working down in the kitchens with Jane Crocker.

It just so happened that on this particular night, Roxy Lalonde was swimming over to visit Jane.  
‘Janeeeeey,’ Roxy pounded at the door to her friend’s hive. Roxy’s hair bounced around her as she twisted around in the water.  
The door slowly opened and jane was bobbing her, a bowl of cake mix was in hand. ‘Yes?’  
‘I was wondering if you had the keys to the library?’ She smiled sweetly as her pink tail swished around, pushing the water towards jane.  
Jane adjusted her framed glasses before sighing. ‘As I have already said, no. However, I believe Aranea might considering she is the librarian after all,’ She suddenly grabbed a spoon to scoop out some batter to give to her friend. ‘Taste test?’  
‘Sure,’ Roxy took the spoon and cramped the mixture into her mouth only to be met by an abundance of flavours. ‘Wow, truly amazing,’ She beamed as she pretending tears began to well up in her eyes.  
‘Save the sarcasm,’ Jane giggled as she took the spoon back. ‘Aranea should be in her hive, if not, maybe try the southern reef,’  
‘Thanks so much!’ Roxy exclaimed as she sped away, a hand waving behind her at her friend.  
Jane muttered to herself as her friend vanished behind the rocks, the water rippled by where she had swam. 

gutsyGumshoe began pestering ectoBiologist at 11:18pm  
GG: human are you there  
EB: Yes and my name is John :B  
GG: not important  
GG: I have a question for you  
EB: well what is it?  
GG: are there any documented cases of humans turning into a merperson?  
EB: I’m not sure, but I can ask my kismesis when I see her tomorrow  
EB: Why?  
GG: Its just my curiosity  
GG: I need to return to my work now, good bye  
EB: bye  
gustyGumshoe ceased pestering ectoBiologist at 11:24pm

‘What was she going on about?’ John mumbled to himself as he closed his laptop. He had had contact with this mysterious merperson for a short while when she accidentally came across him. Since then, she began interrogating him about the human race. It seemed very odd to him. He had no idea how he even found her or why he was questioning him on these things in the first place.  
He sighed as he leant back on his bed, his sister wasn’t coming home tonight as she was staying at their cousin’s house. She had become a marine biologist and was studying merfolk and what their culture was like. She was determined to find one. But, John could never tell her he knew one.

Karkat felt something push against his shoulder and he mumbled angrily ‘GO AWAY, KANKRI,’  
‘For starters, I’m not Kankri, whoever the fuck that is,’ Dave chuckled as he watched the boy turn over to face him, dark shadows under his eyes.  
‘OH, YOU,’ he grumbled ‘I WAS HOPING THAT WAS A DREAM,’   
‘Nope, you’re still stuck here, now come on, we haven’t got long until dirk gets up and the bookshop opens at 6,’ Dave grabbed onto Karkat’s wrist, dragging him out of bed and towards the door.  
He threw a coat towards Karkat, telling him to put it on as they exited the house together. Karkat was still a little shaky about walking, but he was getting better, he was also admiring the human nature as they walked past it all.

‘YOUR WORLD IS REALLY DIFFERENT TO OURS,’ Karkat randomly announced as he gazed at the trees and flowers.  
‘I gathered, I’d love to see yours, but humans cant breathe underwater,’ Dave shrugged as they continued down the path, walking into the town. They had been walking for almost an hour now. ‘I mean, unless you had some fucking weird potion,’ He had no idea his sister had become a merperson. He was told she moved away to focus on her career.  
‘I HEARD OF ONE STORY OF A HUMAN IN OUR POD,’ He explained ‘APPARENTLY SHE WAS CURSED WHEN SHE WAS 19 OR SOMETHING AND NOW SHE LIVES WITH US,’   
‘Cursed?’ Dave stopped in his tracks to look at the boy, confusion and curiosity was written on his face.  
‘YEAH, I DONT KNOW, SHE JUST APPEARED ONE DAY ASKING FOR HELP,’ He shrugged as they continued to walk.  
‘Weird, but anyways, this is my sister’s bookshop, she owns it with her fiancé and a friend. She may be a bit intimidating, but she’s nice, don’t worry,’ Dave reassured him as they came to a stop when he recognised a familiar face. 

‘Good morning Calliope!’ Dave called out.  
‘oh, good morning Dave, I was jUst aboUt to open Up shop,’ She held up a key in her hand and smiled. ‘whose yoUr friend?’ she looked over at Karkat.  
Dave glanced over his shoulder to look at the boy who looked akward while standing there, trying to avoid eye contact. ‘Oh, this is Karkat, he needed to find a map, got lost on his trip that’s all,’ He played it off.  
‘yes and yoUre sUre hes not a merman?’ She pointed at his wrist where Karkat was wearing a red ribbon. ‘only the mer wear those,’  
‘OH FUCK, I FORGOT ABOUT THIS,’ Karkat yelled as he desperately tried to get it off with his sharp teeth.  
‘Calliope, you cant say a thing,’ Dave looked at the girl, his face was solemn and showed no emotion. If he werent wearing his shades it may well have been a death stare.  
‘oh I wont, neither woUld kanaya and rose, I think yoU’ll be safe here,’ She beckoned them inside the store, to which they followed.   
‘Oh, good morning Dave, Calliope and... you are...?’ Rose looked up from the register where she was sipping a cup of coffee to where the three had entered.  
‘no time to talk rose! we need to help a merfolk,’ Calliope beamed.


End file.
